So as dusk loomed, armed with a suggestion from someone on Facebook and rough directions from the book "Waterfalling in Wisconsin," by David Hedquist, I turned off Highway 13 south of Cornucopia and onto Klemik Road.

Hedquist's book (and some other directions from various websites), said the trailhead was about 3/4 of the mile down the dirt road, marked by a yellow gate. There was no yellow gate, but there was a small grassy area to park and a break in the woods leading to a trail.

I grabbed my headlamp and checked my phone — GPS was still working, so I'd at least have a rough idea where I was.

I set off down the trail, walking through the woods that were drowning in green but in a month or two would be ablaze in the colors of fall.

Soon I found myself at a junction. The directions didn't indicate which way to go, but my instincts told me to go right.

What the directions did indicate was a two-mile hike with two bridge crossings, and I could see from my GPS I was getting close to Lost Creek Number Two.

Yes, Two. There are two Lost Creeks, apparently, to make things even more difficult.

I crossed one via the bridge, turned to the left at the trail junction after, and continued hiking through some muddy stretches. Ruts in the trail and a few orange directional signs told me these were probably ATV and snowmobile trails. But that evening, they were all mine.

I crossed the second bridge and climbed a small hill to find a white sign blocking an overgrown trail. I breathed a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding in — the sign indicated the access trail for Lost Creek Falls had been moved a bit farther down.

Sure enough, there it was: a larger, more official-looking brown sign indicating Lost Creek Falls was a 1/4 mile away.

After seeing dozens of waterfalls in my travels over the summer, including the state's largest at a stunning 165 feet, this little waterfall was one of my favorites for its seclusion and simple beauty. The creek might be Lost, but it was paradise found.

More information: There is a much easier way to access Lost Creek Falls than the route I took.

In 2016, a new trailhead and trail was added to access the falls from the east. Find parking on Trail Drive off County Highway C south of Cornucopia.

The new trail has gravel and boardwalks that lead about 1.5 miles to the waterfall, making for a 3-mile round-trip hike.

You can still access the waterfall from the west like I did, but it is a more challenging hike. I was somewhat lucky in making the correct turns on those trails, aided by a GPS, lots of hiking experience and a good sense of direction.

Getting there: Lost Creek Falls is on the Bayfield peninsula southwest of Cornucopia, about 370 miles north of Milwaukee.